Botanical clan
The Botanical clan chose its name in 904, after the surname law was passed, because it has, throughout the generations, included a great many botanists. It has also long included a great many explorers (many of whom were also botanists), and is one of the few clans to have maintained relations throughout multiple villages around The Land for many generations. It is one of the wealthiest and most prominent clans on the Land, with many members in important positions. However, unlike many wealthy clans, the Botanicals don't consider any one member to be the clan's head. The following is a list of just a few of the clan's prominent members: Collin Botanical Collin was born in LY 844, in Ship, the youngest of three siblings, including his brother Rufus and sister Saffron. In 860, he moved to Monab, where he soon got a job working as a groundskeeper at the Church of the Bishop. In 865 he married a coworker named Francine, and two years later they had a son, Scott. It was during a visit to Collin in 862 that his brother Rufus chose a name for the ship he'd commissioned, the Sp'yetflower. Over the years, Collin became friendly with various members of The Order, both those who lived in Monab and those who attended the annual Pilgrimage from villages around the world. He became well known to many secular Monabites, as well. By 884, Collin had become Chief Gardener of the church's grounds, though of course titles didn't matter to him (he was wealthy because of his clan, and his job was a passion rather than a means of deriving a living.) In 904, he was elected the village's first Chief Councillor. He was reelected in 907, but rather than run for a third term in 910, he supported the campaign of Mallory Secundus. (Collin had long been a friend of Mallory's, and they were both close friends of Kizin Planner, who died in 910, and who Mallory replaced as bishop.) Rufus Botanical Rufus was born in LY 837, in Ship, the oldest of three siblings, including his sister Saffron and brother Collin. In 862, he commissioned the building of a frigate called the Sp'yetflower (named after one month's bloom of the dodecahydrangea), which serves as a transport for passengers between various coastal villages. Since 885, it has served as transport for spirit-talkers from Port to Monab for the annual Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage lasts throughout the month of Su'gin, and the Sp'yetflower sails from Port in early Sp'yet, taking about 20 days to get to Ship, from which point pilgrims travel by land to Monab. It was in 884 that Port was founded, and Rufus was among its settlers. Rufus served as captain of the Sp'yetflower until he (and his ship) retired in 912. See also list of ships Saffron Botanical Saffron was born in 840, in Ship, the middle child of three siblings, including her brothers Rufus and Collin. In 861, she moved to First Village, where she got a job working in the botanical garden on the grounds of the World Science Council (the largest botanical garden in the world, which had been started by one of her ancestors in 440). In 875 she became the garden's curator, and in 890 she was elected president of the Council, a position she still holds. Scott Botanical Main article: Scott Botanical Scott was born in LY 867, in Monab, to Collin and Francine. He married Hanna Ericson in 908. He is currently the commodore of the Port fleet of the Navy. Category:People